Superheater header



July 27, 1943. B. SMITH EI'AL SU'PERHEATER HEADER Filed Oct. 18, 1941 r 2 Sheets-Sheet l V1 5 I E R n Maw m m m mm 5% r @a 3m V. B

July 27, 1943.

B. SMITH ETAL SUPERHEATER HEADER Filed Oct. 18, 1941 2 sheets -Sheet 2 Patented July 27 1943 i;

Bert Smith; Teaneck, and

Hawthorne, N. J assignors to The Su 'erheat'er Company, New York, N. Y.

Application October 13, 1941, Serial No. 415,550

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to steam superheaters and particularly to an improved header for use with a superheater in a locomotive boiler. V In most locomotives the superheater tubes are mounted in fines that connect into the front tube sheet of the boiler and are arranged in alinement in a plurality of horizontal and vertical rows. Ordinarily the superheater header to which the ends of the tubes areconnected is mounted to extend transversely of the smoke box above the topmost row of lines in a position between the front tube sheet and the extension of the smoke stack that is located within the smoke box. In some locomotive constructions the distance between the front tube sheet and the stack extension is insufi'icient to accommodate a header having a depth, i. e. dimension axially of the boiler, great enough to accommodate tube openings into which to connect all of the superheater elements to provide a superheater having the desired amount of heat absorbing surface. This is particularly true in certain types of existing engines where it is desired to increase.

the heat absorbing surface of the superheater above that provided when the locomotive was built.

The present invention contemplates a superheater header having subsidiary steam'chambers of progressively decreasing length from the outer lateral edges of the header to the central portion thereof so that parts of the header may be located alongside and closely adjacent the sides of the stack extension. The invention will be best understood upon consideration of the following detailed description.

of an illustrative embodiment thereof when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: i V

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through the smoke box of a locomotive boiler and shows a superheater header embodyingthe in vention; and

Figure 2 is a' sectional view on the line 2-2 in Figure 1 showing the header in bottom plan view.

The locomotive boiler has a front tube sheet into which are connected a plurality of flues ll arranged in alinement in horizontal and vertical ing header of a depth great enough to receive the ends of the number of superheater tubes required to produce the desired superheat.

The superheater header, designated as a whole in Fig 1 by the'numeralZB, is located above the uppermost row of lines II and has a steam inlet pipe 2i to which the dry pipe of the boiler is connected. The header 20 is formed with main saturated and superheated steam chambers 2| A and 22 respectively, extending transversely of the header. Extending at right angles to and forwardly from the chambers 2i and 22 are a plurality of cavities 23 constituting subsidiary steam chambers, alternate subsidiary chambers communicating with the main saturated steam chamber while the intermediate subsidiary steam chambers communicate with the superheated steam chamber 22 from which the superheated steam passes through the outlet pipes 24 and the steam pipes 25 to the engines of the locomotive. In accordance with the present invention the subsidiary steam chambers'23 are of varying lengths progressively decreasing from each lateral edge 35 of the header toward the central portion thereof. Thus While the rear face 3! of the header is generally parallel with the tube sheet IS the forward face 32 of the header has a plurality of setbacks 33, 34, 35. Consequently, the subsidiary chambers in the central portion of the header are the shortest, while those adjacent the latter edges are the longest thereby forming wing portions in the header which extend alongside the stack or, more properly speaking, its extension M. The construction described permits a header of an adequate size to accommodate a superheater having the number of tubes required to provide the amount of heat absorbing surface desired to be conveniently mounted within the smoke box of a locomotive even in those installations where the distance between the front tube sheet [0 and the stack extension rows and containing the tubes l2 that constitute the heat absorbing surface of the superheater. The locomotive smoke stack l3 connects into the i4 is smaller than ordinarily provided to accome modate a header of conventional construction. Thisis because the greater part of the superheating surface is made up of tubes connecting into openings in the underside of those subsidiary chambers that form the wing portions of the header which lie alongside the stack extension I4 and a relatively smallnumber of supersmoke box forwardly of the front tube sheet I0 and has an extension I 4 located within the smoke box forwardly of the front tube sheet I 0, the axial distance between the two being too small in many instances to accommodate a transversely extendheater tubes connect into the subsidiary chambers in the central portion of the header which is located in the space behind the stack extension l4 and forwardly of the front tube sheet 10.

What we claim is: l 1.. In a locomotive boiler having a smoke stack extension in the smoke box forwardly of the front tube sheet into which are connected a plurality of rows of flues containing superheater tubes, and a superheater header located above the uppermost row of flues and formed with main saturated and superheated steam chambers; means forming a plurality of subsidiary steam v chambers communicating with said main cham- 2. In a locomotive boiler having a smoke stack extension located in the smoke box forwardly of the front tube sheet into which are connected a plurality of rows of fines containing superheater tubes, a chambered superheater header having a rear face closely paralleling the tube sheet and a front face formed with a plurality of setbacks that are stepped from each lateral edge of the header toward its central portion so that the latter portion of the header may be disposed between the tube sheet and stack extension while wing portions of the header at each side of the central portion extend alongside the stack extension.

BERT SMITH. CHARLES RINGEL. 

